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\u201cWe\u2019re all about creating workhorses, not gimmicks,\u201d he said during a product demonstration. \u201cAI is just accelerating [our mission] massively, making it quicker, faster and better for customers to achieve their goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew if we could crack that nut, that would be a huge advantage for us. That\u2019s where we needed to be, and that\u2019s where we could compete because we\u2019ve got the data, we\u2019ve got all the templates, we\u2019ve got the capabilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since launching its Magic Studio AI tools in 2023, Canva users have used AI features more than 20 billion times, Obrecht said, making it one of the fastest-growing AI platforms globally. Its AI tools have saved marketers an average of four hours per week. More importantly for investors, they\u2019re converting free users to paid subscribers, with average contract values jumping 66 per cent in 2025.<\/p>\n
The Creative Operating System launch introduces significant upgrades across Canva\u2019s Visual Suite, including Video 2.0, a reimagined video editor built from scratch in which users can generate polished video content from a single prompt. Email Design, one of Canva\u2019s most requested products, allows teams to create, customise and export fully branded marketing emails as HTML files without coding.<\/p>\n
Canva also announced that Affinity, the professional design tool suite it acquired for desktop designers, will be free forever. The move directly challenges Adobe\u2019s dominance in professional creative software, for which users typically pay $500 or more annually.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is us really disrupting the professional design market,\u201d Obrecht said. \u201cWhy should professional designers be missing out on our mission to empower the world to design?\u201d<\/p>\n
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Canva co-founders Cliff Obrecht and Melanie Perkins, pictured with fellow co-founder Cameron Adams.Credit: Canva<\/p>\n
The company is also launching Canva Grow, an end-to-end marketing platform that brings creation, publishing and performance tracking together in one place. Marketing teams can now design and launch ads across platforms such as Meta, track insights in real time and refine content based on performance metrics.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really expect that to be a multibillion-dollar business within five years,\u201d Obrecht said of Canva Grow, noting the company was \u201ctrying to do invest a lot more in less\u201d to maximise impact across the platform.<\/p>\n
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Canva\u2019s chief financial officer Kelly Steckelberg.Credit: Kelly Steckelberg<\/p>\n
Canva hired Kelly Steckelberg, who helped take Zoom public in 2019, as chief financial officer in November 2024, a widely viewed signal that the company is preparing for its market debut. Obrecht confirmed that the IPO will \u201cprobably\u201d happen on the Nasdaq rather than the Australian Securities Exchange, following the path of fellow Australian tech giant Atlassian.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur recent secondary [funding round] was bigger than a lot of the recent IPOs,\u201d Obrecht noted. \u201cFrom an investor perspective, we\u2019ve got all the top investors that invest through IPOs, and they have been our investors the last few years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Industry analysts suggest Canva could achieve valuations between $US40 billion and $US200 billion at its IPO, depending on market conditions and the revenue multiple assigned by investors.<\/p>\n
For all the momentum, questions remain. The company claims eight years of profitability, yet Australian corporate filings show a $US222 million statutory loss in 2022. Canva counters that it\u2019s \u201ccash flow positive\u201d using its own metrics – the kind of accounting gymnastics that invite IPO scrutiny. Competition is also intensifying: Figma\u2019s recent Config 2025 launch introduced Buzz, a marketing tool directly targeting Canva\u2019s core market, while Adobe\u2019s Firefly AI generated $US250 million in the quarter that ended August, proving the incumbent can still innovate.<\/p>\n
Despite its ambitious growth plans, Canva has notably slowed its headcount expansion, with the workforce growing to about 5500 people – a deceleration from previous years. \u201cThat\u2019s the byproduct of us getting a lot more efficient and employees being powered with AI to do more,\u201d Obrecht said.<\/p>\n
With its Creative Operating System, foundational design model and expanding suite of AI-powered tools, Canva is positioning itself not just as a design platform but as the operating system for modern creative work.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a bold repositioning that could justify premium valuations when Canva makes its public market debut.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really do believe we\u2019re just 1 per cent of the way there,\u201d Obrecht said. \u201cThe best is yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n